Outdoor Senior Girl

[Benji]

All natural lighting. Black gobo at camera left blocking the unwanted light thereby creating a shadow on her right cheek.

Benji

[jiminyClickit]

Benji,

How much do women love to see their hair in photographs? A lighter (than her hair) background might give better definition. She appears to be leaving the area, sliding down and to the left. More torso, less angle might help there. Color seems pretty good, lighting's OK. Did she comment?

[wulf]

On the other hand, if the background was too light, it might distract the eye away from the subject. Our eyes tend to be drawn by contrast and the range of greens round the edge provide a "frame" for her face in the middle.

However, I wonder if the face is too close to the centre of the picture? As an alternative, perhaps you could crop in closer and arrange the head so it is a bit less centred? Even better would have been to do that in-camera and get the full sweep round the neck of her green top.

Overall though, it is a pleasant and happy looking portrait and I expect the subject is happy with it.

Wulf

[Benji]

Benji,

How much do women love to see their hair in photographs? A lighter (than her hair) background might give better definition. She appears to be leaving the area, sliding down and to the left. More torso, less angle might help there. Color seems pretty good, lighting's OK. Did she comment?

An all naturally lit image is just that, all natural, including the background. I suppose if I really was worried about her dark hair I could have rigged up a small flash unit on a boom above her head and ran a long synch cord and another flash unit behind her to brighten up the background, but then the spontanaity of the moment would be lost. I think the reason so many senior like outdoor images is the "naturalness" of them. Artificial lights and backgrounds belong in the studio.

Benji

[jiminyClickit]

Benji,

I see lighter foliage a foot from her head, which would have been enough to set her hair apart. No lights, no lost spontaneity, just a simple lateral move.

[wulf]

Or some kind of reflective surface to bounce some light to define the shape of her head on the left side - even someone standing just out of frame in a white shirt might have done it.

Wulf

[Benji]

Or some kind of reflective surface to bounce some light to define the shape of her head on the left side - even someone standing just out of frame in a white shirt might have done it.

Wulf

Actually just out of frame at camera left was her father holding a black gobo to create some shadows on that side of her face. Without a gobo she would have been very flat lit and with her round face that would have made her look heavier. For some reason I have never had a woman ask me to please add ten pounds to her frame! :)

Benji